Facing Ryou's Tailed Beast-like body, Tsume wasn't intimidated in the slightest.
A fighting spirit surfaced in her eyes as she shouted at Ryou, "Uchiha Ryou, just kill me! I will never bow my head to you."
"How bold!"
Ryou released the terrifying aura of a ferocious beast, and Kuromaru was instantly scared shitless.
Tsume wasn't doing much better either.
The Kage-level Orochimaru could make Sasuke vomit from fear using only his killing intent.
And Ryou's current power levels were equivalent to the Nine-Tails; Tsume was directly knocked unconscious by the god-of-death-like aura.
Seeing Tsume fall fast asleep, Kuromaru begged for mercy: "Spare me, hero! Spare me, hero!"
Ryou snorted, "I am a rogue Shinobi of Konoha, and you are Konoha Shinobi. Why should I spare your lives?"
Kuromaru explained, "Brother, brother, it's Tsume's Secret Technique that made you so strong. We didn't come to track you; we came to bring you an opportunity."
"That makes sense!"
Ryou thought about it and felt that Kuromaru's words had a bit of logic. He immediately withdrew his aura and retracted the vines bound around Kuromaru and Tsume.
Once released, Kuromaru immediately checked on Tsume's condition.
Ryou comforted it: "Don't worry! Tsume is fine, she's just been shocked!"
Kuromaru breathed a sigh of relief.
Ryou raised a paw, and green vines extended from it. The vines touched Tsume, releasing a layer of green chakra onto her body.
Currently, Ryou's Futamata-no-O-no-Mikoto form was composed of the Sharingan and Wood Release; the grayish-brown color of the body was the color of Wood Release.
Under the treatment of Ryou's Wood Release chakra, the terror on Tsume's face gradually smoothed out.
Tsume could have woken up then, but Ryou didn't let her. Tsume's personality wasn't the type to be submissive.
If she woke up, she'd just start barking like a dog; it was better to let her sleep.
Ryou wanted to play with the dog, but the Futamata-no-O-no-Mikoto's size was simply too massive.
How big was the Two-Tailed Matatabi?
It was a giant beast dozens of meters tall; a single paw was as big as a log cabin.
The Futamata-no-O-no-Mikoto form manifested by Ryou and Candy was the same size as Matatabi. It wasn't easy to tease a dog with such huge paws.
Ryou then deactivated the Inuzuka Style Human Beast Mixture Transformation and returned to his original form.
Candy stood on Ryou's shoulder and said, "Next time, let me take the lead of the Futamata-no-O-no-Mikoto body."
"Fine, fine, fine!"
Ryou patted Candy's head, then squatted down to pet Kuromaru's dog head.
With Ryou back in his original form and that suffocating pressure gone, Kuromaru could finally wag its tail.
It even stuck out its tongue to lick Ryou's palm, grateful for Ryou's mercy in sparing them.
"Good dog, truly a good dog!"
Ryou smiled at Kuromaru: "Look at your master. As a pregnant woman, she should stay home! Why come to the battlefield to meddle?"
Kuromaru agreed: "Exactly, I told her to stay home, but she insisted on coming out as an envoy to Sunagakure!"
"But Ryou-nii, if we hadn't come, you wouldn't have gotten the Inuzuka Clan's Secret Technique, nor would you have become so strong."
Ryou nodded: "So you're saying I should thank you?"
Kuromaru quickly shook its head and smiled flatteringly: "Not at all! This is all the Inuzuka Clan's tribute to you. I just hope that if we meet on the battlefield, Ryou-nii can show some mercy."
"That's easy to say!"
Ryou laughed, patted Kuromaru's head, and then released Medical Ninjutsu.
Kuromaru was a Shinobi Hound who had been through many battles; it had lost its left ear and right eye in cruel fights of the past.
These were symbols of a hero dog.
Ryou admired it; after all, before changing his fate, Ryou's biggest fear was going to the battlefield. He didn't have Kuromaru's courage.
Under Ryou's chakra, Kuromaru's left ear regenerated directly.
But the eye couldn't be regenerated.
Ryou looked left and right and saw Rasa's corpse.
Rasa was dead, so what did he need eyes for?
"Sasori, give me Rasa's eyes!"
∑(￣□￣;).
Sasori was helpless. He was an old artist; the puppets he made had to be complete and aesthetic to have collection value.
What kind of thing was it to take an eye and transplant it onto a dog?
Sasori's hesitation made Ryou start shouting: "Sasori, what are you dawdling for? Do you want me to shock you!"
Sasori turned back to process Rasa's corpse, extracted Rasa's eyes, and sent them to Ryou.
Can a human eye be installed on a dog?
No, but in the Naruto world, nothing is impossible.
Furthermore, Ryou used Yin-Yang Release to perform the transplant surgery on Kuromaru. Before long, Kuromaru had Rasa's eyes transplanted; now all of Kuromaru's physical defects had been repaired by Ryou.
Kuromaru hugged Ryou's calf and wailed: "Benefactor! From now on you are my blood brother. Ryou-nii, from now on, I'll do whatever you tell me to do."
Ryou patted Kuromaru's head and laughed: "Good, good, good. From now on, you are my undercover agent in Konoha. I'm giving you a mission now: after you go back, secretly poop in front of the Hokage's Office."
Kuromaru became determined: "Ryou-nii, don't worry, I will definitely complete your mission."
Ryou smiled, then grabbed Tsume's head, invading her mind with Genjutsu energy. Just like how he dissected Sasori's past before, he began searching for the Inuzuka Clan's Secret Techniques.
Ryou discovered that the Inuzuka Clan's Secret Techniques were actually quite useful.
The dog breeders really had some good stuff.
Kuromaru was a bit worried about Tsume's safety: "Brother, what are you doing, brother?"
Candy said: "Kuromaru, don't worry. My master is taking your Inuzuka Clan's Secret Techniques!"
How could I not worry about the Secret Techniques being taken?
Kuromaru grumbled in its heart.
Before long, Ryou had collected several useful Secret Techniques of the Inuzuka Clan.
For example, Super Sense of Smell: by concentrating chakra in the nose, one can obtain a sense of smell ten thousand times more sensitive than an ordinary person's.
There was also the Fang Passing Fang, a tornado-like charging attack.
Four Legs Technique: concentrating chakra in the limbs to move on all fours like a beast, increasing speed, grip, jumping power, and claw strike damage.
Spinning in the air while peeing to mark enemies... cough, cough, that was a move for Shinobi Hounds.
"Alright!"
After Ryou finished taking the Inuzuka Clan's Secret Techniques, he patted Kuromaru's head: "Tsume will wake up in a while. We should leave."
Kuromaru nodded.
Ryou then pointed at the gold Candy had thrown at Kuromaru earlier: "Take those as your reward!"
"Thanks, brother!"
Ryou picked up Candy and jumped back onto Shukaku's back, controlling Shukaku to head towards the Land of Rain.
Kuromaru stayed by Tsume's side, watching Ryou leave.
Shukaku's back receded further and further into the boundless desert, standing like a mountain range between heaven and earth.
It never looked back, leaving only an inviolable silhouette that gradually vanished at the end of the wind and sand, as if it had never appeared.